State Fair promises food and fun

AUGUSTA — Food, rides and entertainment will be offered at the New Jersey State Fair Sussex County Farm & Horse Show coming to the fairgrounds in Augusta from Aug. 1 to 10.

“The Three Little Pigs” Street Art

The brand new art project, “The Three Little Pigs” combines local artistic talent with fair fundraising.

The project brings three local artists and their colorful fiberglass pigs to The Richards Building, where the pigs will be displayed for all 10 days of the fair. On Aug. 10, all three pigs (each is 36 inches high and 52 inches long) will be sold at a live auction.

The auction will occur at 2 p.m., prior to the Wood Carver Chainsaw Auction, and the proceeds will benefit the Fairground Improvement Fund. This contribution of the artists and the patrons will improve the fairgrounds and beautify the space. The fair is a 501(c) (3) non-profit, and receives no funds from the state or the county.

When Pigs Fly — Well-known wildlife artist Carol Decker contributed a colorful painted pig covered with birds. The pig includes representations of the United States and Sussex County, including a United States flag banner, New Jersey’s state bird, the American Goldfinch, and High point monument.

Beauty — Modern acrylic painter Pat Gray Redline created a pastel pig in a modern, abstract artistic style.

Rebel the Road Hog — Airbrush and sign specialist Art Frisbie’s pig has a realistic, gritty face with a skull and crossbones styling across his back.

Circus
The Fair’s Circus Hollywood combines traditional circus elements with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. The Circus will present a wide variety of trained animals, all of which perform tricks. In addition to the wildlife, highly skilled human performers will also grace the circus, including trapeze artists, aerial performers, and clowns. For the thrill-seekers, there will also be a Globe of Death — a cage ball with a professional motorcycle driver zooming inside.

Tickets can be purchased at The Fairgrounds office or at local partners in the surrounding areas. For a full list of places to purchase advance tickets, visit wwwnjstatefair.org. Fair tickets will also be available at the door.

Demolition Derby
The New Jersey State Fair Demolition Derby draws over 100 cars and drivers from Sussex county as well as neighboring counties, and pit five or more drivers against each other on the dirt track in a grown-up, dangerous game of bumper cars.

The last car standing is the winner, and in the meantime, the audience gets to enjoy the smashing, crashing, and sometimes flipping of cars. Each year brings back many talented drivers from the previous years.

Demolition Derbies have been a mainstay of State Fairs since the 1950s, and include old and new cars, large and small vehicles, and more. This event is fun for visitors of all ages, and safety precautions are in place for the crowd and drivers.

This year’s crash-up is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 3, and Monday, Aug. 4. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. both nights, and will continue, rain or shine.

Tickets are $13 for reserve seating and $11 for general admission, and are in addition to required fair admission. Tickets are on sale until they are sold out, and may be purchased during the day at the fair.

Robotics teams
This year a new exhibit created by a teenager will be at the fair.

Tess Bugay, an Ambassador Girl Scout and recent graduate of Newton High School, has worked with State Fair officials and her robotics team to design and implement the STEAM Pavilion which will showcase organizations helping to promote science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics to the community’s youth.

Bugay, a Girl Scout from the time she was in kindergarten, was introduced to robotics during a camping weekend hosted by the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey.

Winning awards at the top levels of the Solar Sprint races that most area middle school kids participate in, exposed her to the large number of other young kids who found technology exciting and gave her the confidence to try the Newton Robotics Team when she entered high school.

Using the Girl Scout’s new theme Discover, Connect, Take Action, Bugay realized that there were areas of the program that were not being maximized and linked with the coach and her school to create the first robotics team in New Jersey to receive varsity status for robotics.

Developing the non-tech side of the team and increasing outreach with story time to local elementary schools, visits to Bristol Glen, a local senior citizen’s residence, and teaching classes in Photovoltaics at the 100 Years of Science held by GSNNJ at Steven’s Institute, Bugay was able to help her team reach out to all segments of the community. Her efforts earned her the distinction of being the robotics team’s first female and two-term captain and propelled her to the International FIRST Competition in St. Louis where she competed against the top 132 students from around the world chosen for their efforts in promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

When Bugay’s robotics coach asked her to meet with Barbara Wortmann from the State Fair to discuss the possibility of sponsorship at the Fair, Bugay realized that this would be an excellent opportunity to connect with a large segment of the community and introduce local organizations promoting STEM and agriculture. Creating a pavilion to host these groups was a natural choice for her Gold Award project as it linked those influences in her life that have impacted her the most and offered her the opportunity to share them with the public.

Plowing ahead, Bugay added agriculture to the STEM acronym creating STEAM and the Pavilion’s name. The STEAM Pavilion will have three tents hosting the Newton Robotics Team – Aperture 3142, a guest tent which will have a new exhibitor each day of the Fair, and a STEAM Lounge where Fair attendees may come to sit and relax while charging their tech devices.

Guest exhibitors to the STEAM Pavilion will include FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST LEGO League robotics teams from Roxbury, Mt. Olive, Sparta, Andover, Newton, Vernon, and East Orange, as well as, GSNNJ, the Boy Scouts, and Picatinny Arsenal who will be bringing their bomb defusing Talon robot featured in the movie "The Hurt Locker" and which was also used to detect radio activity after the tsunami in Japan.

All exhibitors at the pavilion will have hands-on activities for the public to enjoy with the Fair hosting a special day devoted to kids on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

More information
For more information, contact The Fairgrounds at 973-948-5500, email thefair@njstatefair.org, or visit www.njstatefair.org.